1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to garment hangers; and, more particularly, to hangers having spaced shoulder notches for retaining garments thereon and the method of making the same.
2. Related Art
Garment hangers having spaced notches for hanging garments therefrom are well known in the art. Such hangers are of plastic but, so far, wooden garment hangers which contain interlocking shoulder notches similar to those which are commonly produced in plastic garment hangers have not been available. Interlocking notches securely contain the shoulder strap of a garment within the confines of the notch. Due to the large increase of usage of wooden garment hangers in the retail apparel industry, there is a significant need for economically priced interlocking shoulder notches in wooden hangers.
Whereas a strong, functional, and smoothly finished interlocking notch can be easily produced for virtually no cost in molded plastic hangers, it had been a far more difficult matter and more costly procedure to produce interlocking notches in wooden garment hangers. The primary hindrances of producing interlocking notches in wooden hangers were:
A) Extreme weakness of the two thin wooden finger elements which form the top section of the interlocking notch. PA1 B) Expensive and difficult process of smoothly cutting, sanding, and applying numerous coatings of finishing material within the confines of the narrow rectangular channel area of the notches' interior surfaces. PA1 C) The need to increase the surface area, thus increasing the raw material costs, of existing wooden hanger designs in order to provide sufficient strength and working area to produce a functional interlocking notch.
There is thus a need for a wooden garment hanger having spaced interlocking notches and a method for economically and easily manufacturing the same.